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VA | igi = | enim nnn nn nnn nnn f ee ee Minn nn | mt «Q el E ~an cal : nl tan 7 "Ny all} (h ~ bers as usual have been chosen for 'The senate is quite certain to deliberate the VOL. 5§ NEW YORK JANUARY, 1921 CLEVELAND No. 1 as A Good Way ToSpend then Marine Men Have Real Opportunity to Use Next Few Months to Profit and Advantage SHOSE sections of the merchant marine act which meet with the approval of the executive department of the American government are slowly being put into effect. Those portions, such as the command to notify foreign nations of proposed treaty changes, which have equal legal force but are distasteful to the executive, are destined to remain a mere grouping of words until the new administration assumes control. When the act became the law of the land on June 5, it called for the selection of a new shipping board of seven members to replace the old board of five commissioners. On Dec. 1, the seven new members took office, that is, practically six months after they should. have been appointed. Zealous advocates of governmental control of most of our major industries, may be able to prove how a business can profit from a half year without a board of directors but the aver- age person lacks this facile habit of ignoring such fundamental conditions. Hope for the ultimate disposal by the govern- ment of its merchant fleet, continues to rest largely on the promises of the future instead of the actualities of the present. The new board, several of whose mem- litical reasons, in the story of venture. ualifi- cations of the members for suffiglent time to allow a new slate to be made up by the'incoming President. is quite likely to prove but an incider the government's shipbuilding and Ahippin Living a Year on Hope For that reason, th€ private American marine ex- ecutive faces the winter, buoyed by hope for better times to come. Jyfst a year ago, hope also furnished about the only néurishment. At that time, the future was brightened by the prospects for congressional action along séund lines. The Jones law fulfilled that promise but/the delays in its passage and later in its execution Have wasted a year of precious opportunity. Now the pleasing anticipation is for a correction by the new President of the condition which has made the eitorts of the shipping board ineffective, the corrective attempts of its few able members abortive. But the present instead of being a period for apathetic admission of inability to accomplish good for several months, is rather the time for constructive effort. The year 1921 may bring out visible signs of the permanent upbuilding of the American merchant marine but only after efficient labor on the unseen but all-important substructure. Aid in Public Search for Knowledge The permanent foundation for a successful com- mercial fleet is the development of a widespread pub- -- lic knowledge of its need and importance. Immense strides in this direction have been made in the past few years. The war brought home to each of the country's 110,000,000 inhabitants the place in a na- tion's affairs held by a fleet of oceangoing vessels. The ordinary citizen learned from the disappearance of imported products he had always taken for granted without thought of the agencies which brought them to this country. He learned also through the shutting off of profits by the curtailment of exports. The manu- facturer, concentrated in the effort to build up his domestic market, has learned of the possibilities for profitable export trade, a balance wheel against periods -- of decreased buying at home. | The legislator, unwilling a few years ago, to give study to an industry of relatively small voting strength, - must now do so. ernment's $3,800,000,000 ship problem is too important to be sidetracked. The marine man has today the opportunity to capi- talize this interest. Give the public intelligent guid- ance on marine problems. Foster the general interest in shipping, which although broadly uninformed, is anxious to learn. On the all-important problem of - selling ships, develop a plan and spread it broadcast. To secure intelligent aid, the marine industry must aid itself. The successful solution of the gov-° ~